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The SBNs received were verified, counted and processed in the sophisticated high-speed CVPS for accuracy and genuineness and shredded and briquetted in the Shredding and Briquetting system.

The processing capacity was augmented by resorting to night shifts (along with day shifts), working for 6 days a week, using 8 additional machines available with commercial banks and taking 7 machines on lease from vendors, the banking regulator said.

New currency in circulation

The impact of demonetisation had plunged reserve money (RM) growth into contraction till November 10, 2017. Between November 9, 2016 – the effective date of demonetisation – and December 31, 2016, the Reserve Bank pumped in 23.8 billion pieces of banknotes into circulation aggregating Rs 5,540 billion in value.

The value of banknotes in circulation increased by 37.7 percent over the year to Rs 18,037 billion (Rs 18.03 lakh crore) as at end-March 2018. The volume of banknotes increased by 2.1 percent.

In value terms, the share of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 banknotes, which had together accounted for 72.7 percent of the total value of banknotes in circulation at March-end 2017, increased to 80.2 percent as at March-end 2018.

The share of newly introduced Rs 200 banknotes in the total value of banknotes in circulation was 2.1 percent as at end-March 2018.

Counterfeit notes

Compared to the previous year, there was an increase of 35 percent in counterfeit notes detected in the denomination of Rs 100, while there was a noticeable increase of 154.3 percent in counterfeit notes detected in the denomination of Rs 50.

In new series of banknotes in the denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 2000, counterfeit notes detected during 2017-18 were 9,892 and 17,929 as against 199 and 638, respectively, during the previous year.